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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26117251">The Force Rises</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/medivhthecorrupted/pseuds/medaeus'>medaeus (medivhthecorrupted)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Divergence - Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Confederacy of Independent Systems, Dooku Lives (Star Wars), Galactic Empire, Gen, Jedi Master Dooku</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:42:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,796</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26117251</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/medivhthecorrupted/pseuds/medaeus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Anakin Skywalker spared Count Dooku aboard the Invisible Hand, leaving him maimed and humiliated as he rescues Chancellor Palpatine and Obi-wan Kenobi. This act of mercy does not save the Republic or the Jedi Order, what it does instead is create a Cold War between the newly risen Galactic Empire and the wounded Confederacy of Independent Systems.</p>
<p>Now five years later, Bail Organa secretly comes to Serenno to discuss the future with the Head of State of the CIS and the leader of the Neutral Systems, in the hopes of garnering support for a rebellion that is slowly growing in the Outer Rim. What he gets instead is a master for his adopted daughter...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bail Organa &amp; Leia Organa, Dooku &amp; Leia Organa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Force Rises</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is an idea I had of what if Dooku was spared and he would eventually go on to train Leia in the ways of the Force. Disenfranchised by the Sith and the Jedi alike, he creates his own Order and Leia is his first student.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>If someone had asked him five years ago where he would be in five years, he would not have said, much less imagined, that he would be striding down the ramp of his personal shuttle on his way to speak with the leader of the movement that led to a terrible war and the fall of the Republic. Nor would he have said he would have been a father despite Breha’s and his attempts to conceive, and that child he had adopted at the spur of a moment would be accompanying him to the homeworld of aforementioned leader.</p>
<p>He did imagine that the men who tasked him for caring the young infant would disapprove of his decision making skills in bringing her here, but the Emperor’s close scrutiny of his activities of late prompted his need to keep Leia beside him. Which then led to where he was now, on the landing pad of a traitor and former Sith.</p>
<p>Bail Organa knew that if he and his conspirators were to ever restore the Republic, they would need help. He just did not imagine, nor particularly enjoyed the idea of, reaching out to the man who had helped bring about the destruction of the democratic institution he had dedicated his life to. Never mind the fact that it had been Palpatine who had orchestrated everything and left the Count to hang on his own after he had achieved his goals.</p>
<p>What rankled him the most was that the Confederacy of Independent Systems had been right all this time. That their propaganda against Palpatine and the Senate had a grain of truth to them and Bail wondered if it had been Dooku’s subtle way in defying his master. He had hoped that would be the case because it would make this visit much more easily acceptable by him and his colleagues and their goals would be obtainable.</p>
<p>Whether the Count wanted the Republic back or not was still in question.</p>
<p>All he had to go on were the man’s own speeches after the rise of the Empire and that the Separatists were rearming themselves in preparation for the Empire’s plans to reclaim their star systems. Their droid army had mysteriously shut down across the galaxy, and rumor had it that the entire Separatist Council had been assassinated and leaving the Count as the sole survivor and badly maimed. But despite these hinted setbacks, the Separatists were not going to go down without a fight. If the reports his own spies had gathered were true, then they were driving a massive recruitment drive to rebuild the army and man what was left of their warships.</p>
<p>Dooku had then started an aggressive political campaign among former Republic star systems, proclaiming that he had been warning about the Empire’s rise and Palpatine’s acquisition of constitutional powers for himself, justifying the war and the Separatist’s right to exist. He had defended democracy and offered disillusioned and shocked systems an opportunity to start anew if only they would join together with the Confederacy and fight against the unjust and murderous Empire, the latter part often accompanied by images of a burning Jedi Temple.</p>
<p>Bail had wanted to speak against Dooku for using the Jedi’s senseless slaughter as a political weapon, feeling that it was morally wrong and that he had been participant in their destruction. But, again, his spies had spoken of how the man had nearly collapsed in the middle of an address to Parliament when the genocide had begun. He did not want to profess he understood how the Force worked in the universe or for the Jedi, but he did remember how Kenobi had described the deaths as they were felt in the Force.</p>
<p><i>“It is like someone punching you in the gut,”</i> the war-hardened Jedi Master had told him with such heartbreaking sadness, he had worried if the Jedi would collapse from it all. <i>“All the air in your lungs is taken from you and someone, something was squeezing your heart so hard that you’re sure to believe it will burst. A thousand lives cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced all at once. The pinpricks of light against the darkness could be felt winking out one by one in rapid succession.”</i> The pain Bail had seen in the younger man’s eyes was something he had not wanted to see ever again.</p>
<p>After seeing the aftermath of it himself, Bail suspected that the former Jedi turned Sith had also felt what Kenobi and any other jedi had felt in the Force that day. It gave him hope that the Count wasn’t as evil as Republic propaganda and official reports had described him as. That if he could react so vividly to the slaughtering of the entire Jedi Order, then he still felt he had a connection with them, and it had spurred the Count into condemning the Empire for it.</p>
<p>His usage of the tragedy was more than a political tool to sway Republic worlds to his cause. It was also a means to spread the word, the truth, of what had happened. Although Bail believed that Dooku was using it for political gain, he held out hope that the man wanted justice too. It was the only real reason why he was even considering speaking to the man at all.</p>
<p>“Senator Organa,” the deep, tenor voice of the man occupying his thoughts for the last few moments, intruded on his reverie, and causing him to turn dark eyes to meet those of the regal Head of State. The Count looked as well as an eighty-eight year old former Jedi would, though he could see that the war and his recent political efforts have taken a toll on him regardless. He was sure that the man could still take on an army and come out as the victor despite his aged appearance.</p>
<p>Bail could see newer stress-lines in his face and even more liver spots than in the last image he had seen of him. His head of stark white hair seemed to be even whiter and the Alderaani senator realized the last of his natural color had finally left his beard and eyebrows. His hands, though, were gloved beyond the wrist and he wondered if that was where he had been maimed. He suspected the nature of it but would not ask out of politeness and respect.</p>
<p>“And Princess Leia, I presume,” the Count continued with the pleasantries, drawing Bail’s attention down to the little girl accompanying him.</p>
<p>Beside Bail, his five year old adopted daughter took a shy step behind him as the attention of the older leader fell upon her. Bail wondered if she could sense Dooku’s true nature. He would have to teach her not to be so openly expressive of such wariness lest she draw the attention of the wrong people.</p>
<p>“Yes, my daughter,” Senator Organa confirmed with a slight nod of his head and a protective hand on her. “Forgive her shyness, this is her first trip off world and she hasn’t had the luxury of meeting dignitaries outside of the safe confines of the Organa estates.”</p>
<p>Dooku dismissed the apologetic explanation with a gesture of his hand, “Completely understandable. Children have that innocent quality about them that makes their shyness charming.”</p>
<p>“Indeed.”</p>
<p>“Shall we head inside and see about to your living quarters for the duration of your stay?” Dooku swept an inviting hand back toward his castle. Bail gave a curt nod and followed the Count back toward the massive castle, Leia right beside him with a tiny hand tucked into his for comfort and guidance.</p>
<p>He gazed up at the home of the planet’s ruling family. Its architecture was familiar, and Bail recognized it as the old archaic style from Alderaan’s distant past. Serenno had once been a colony of his people before it had been subjugated by the ancient Sith Empire and then subsequently freed by her own populace. Bail remembered reading up on this world during the war and most recently on his way here.</p>
<p>House Serenno had come into power when its founder had led the rebellion that overthrew the Sith masters, leading to the rebel leader being named a Count and the planet renamed after him. For some reason, the people of this world stopped acknowledging or believing in the possibility that Count Serenno had been a Jedi and came to despise and hate Force-sensitives. Whatever the reason had been, it either was no longer remembered or had not been strong enough to keep a former Jedi from taking over. The people seemed to have set aside that prejudice and have accepted Count Dooku as their planetary leader.</p>
<p>Bail wondered if they knew he had been a Sith and if they would have continued to let him lead them if they had.</p>
<p>His attention was drawn back to the Count as the man spoke again, expressively gesturing with one of his gloved hands as he did, “I am expecting at least one more dignitary from the Council of Neutral Systems to join us but she should not be here for another two days. In the meantime, you are welcome to explore Serenno as much as you like but I must ask that you refrain from sneaking into restricted areas.”</p>
<p>“Now why would I go and do that, Count?” Bail had not intended to go prying into Separatist business while he was here. He had Leia with him, and his priority was to keep her safe while they were here. Running off to infiltrate secret facilities and government offices were adventures he left in the past now that he was a father.</p>
<p>“You have a reputation for getting into trouble.” There was a quirk of a grin at the corner of the Count’s lips when the man glanced back at him over his shoulder. It was all he needed to know that Dooku knew of his forays with another senator and a certain trio of disastrous Jedi.</p>
<p>Apparently his reputation preceded him years after he was done being the hero. “I don’t know what you are talking about, Your Grace,” Bail tried to say with as much of a neutral expression as he could. Dooku seemed satisfied for he didn’t elaborate further on the Alderaani’s habit of snooping.</p>
<p>Count Dooku led his guests into and through the ancient castle. Bail noticed that the place was not entirely a family residence and resembled more of a government building on the inside. He could see a few personnel of varying positions busy at running the affairs of the planet. Dooku took notice of his interest in the government officials, “Castle Serenno, on the lower floors, consists entirely of government stations and offices that are not a part of the Ruling Council. The upper floors are the residential apartments completely reserved for my family and any guests we may have.”</p>
<p>“I was wondering if you had this place all to yourself,” the senator replied and gave a polite nod to the people they passed. They gave him odd looks but otherwise paid him little to no attention.</p>
<p>“Normally I do. Droids use to run this place.” Dooku brought them to a lift. “But these last few years has seen a change in personnel as the Confederacy shifts from a droid force to a living one.”</p>
<p>“Because of what happened to your army at the end of the war?” Bail postulated as they stepped into the lift. Leia stood in front of him and he placed his hands on her shoulders to both steady her as the lift ascended rapidly, and to make sure his presence was a comfort to her. He didn’t need the Force to sense her unease as they entered the lift. Most Alderaani lifts were open or plastiglass, giving the occupants the feeling of open and wide spaces and the scent of fresh air. This turbo lift must feel claustrophobic to his daughter.</p>
<p>“Partly, yes,” the Count nodded. He was leaning against the wall nearest to the control pad, arms loosely crossed in front of him. Despite years of cultivating the aristocratic and statesman look, Dooku was still an outsider, a rough kyber hidden among a sea of perfectly faceted gems, capable of appearing like the perfect gemstone but secretly an imperfect creation. This was a side of him that very few rarely ever saw, and Bail wondered why he was including him in that small cadre of the privileged. “The Empire assimilated the Trade Federation and the Techno Union, leaving us with only the few droid factories we had secretly built prior to the fall of the Republic.”</p>
<p>“You’re running out of droids to protect your borders,” Bail concluded, frowning a little at this revelation. He had come here in the hopes of acquiring an alliance with the Confederacy, but if they were on the verge of collapse... “How long before the Empire realizes this and restarts their reclamation campaign?”</p>
<p>The Count was silent at the question and it wasn’t a matter of him thinking over a suitable answer. When the lift came to a halt on the residential floors, Dooku took the opportunity to delay in replying and stepped out into a dark corridor, lit only by emerald green lighting at various intervals down each direction. He gestured for Bail and his daughter to follow him and as they continued on their way to the guest quarters, “They already know. I expect war will begin as soon as they are done or close to being done with their ultimate weapon.”</p>
<p>“Ultimate weapon?” the senator repeated. He didn’t like the ominous sound of there being a weapon the Empire could deploy against anyone who opposed them. And how did Dooku know about this weapon where his own spies did not? “You know what it is, don’t you?”</p>
<p>“Of course I do. The Geonosians designed it and the plans fell into Republic hands during the war. They’ve been building it since the second battle of Geonosis,” he heard Dooku explain. The man kept walking after Bail had stopped to stare at him. It was only by the sound of his own footsteps being the only noise echoing off the bare walls that he stopped to look back at the Alderaani senator. “No, I did not have it commissioned. Archduke Poggle was going to give it to the Confederacy as part of his commitment to the cause.”</p>
<p>“What is it, this weapon?” Bail nudged his daughter forward and they both caught up with the Serenni leader again.</p>
<p>Dooku turned forward to continue walking as he spoke, “A planet killer.”</p>
<p>“That’s impossible!” he blurted in disbelief. There was no way the Empire could muster up enough energy output to generate that kind of destructive firepower. He said as much to the Count.</p>
<p>“I assure you; the Empire has been working on that impossibility for the last eight years and once it is complete, they will be unstoppable,” Dooku clenched a hand into a fist to emphasize his statement. “Fortunately for us, we still have time. My Geonosian friends, those that still survive on their world, report that the weapon is only a third built.”</p>
<p>They soon come upon a set of ornate bronzium doors, a dragon like beast carved into the metal, and Dooku waves a hand in front of the control panel. The doors swish inward at a controlled pace, revealing a stately chamber that was the common room and a kitchenette. Splintering off on either side were bedrooms with their own bronzium doors and dragons carved into the metal.</p>
<p>The Count spread an arm outward at the accommodations he was providing, “I hope this will suite your needs, Senator Organa?”</p>
<p>Bail let go of his daughter so Leia could explore the apartment they were given. “Yes, it will do nicely, thank you.”</p>
<p>“I usually have lunch in the courtyard after meditation, you and the Princess are welcome to join me.” Dooku waited at the foyer steps, watching as Bail descended down into the common area.</p>
<p>He took a quick look around before letting his gaze fall upon and meet with the Count’s own again, “How big is this thing if it has taken this long to only complete a third of it?”</p>
<p>“We can discuss more about the weapon over lunch, Senator. In the meantime, make yourself comfortable.” The Count bowed respectfully before turning, his dark cloak swirling behind him as he headed out. The bronzium doors slowly closed after him, leaving Bail alone with Leia.</p>
<p>“He’s sad,” Bail heard his daughter and turned to look at her.</p>
<p>“Why do you say that?”</p>
<p>“It’s a feeling I get when he’s around.” He <em>really</em> needed to teach her to be discreet about what she felt from others.</p>
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